Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:08:05) — My question is for the Minister for Housing, Disability and Ageing, represented by Minister Mikakos. Somewhat arbitrarily the Epilepsy Foundation has historically been funded from the disability budget rather than the health budget. With Department of Health and Human Services disability funding set to cease in less than 12 months time and be redirected to the national disability insurance scheme (NDIS), people living with epilepsy stand to be adversely affected. Only 5 to 20 per cent of people living with epilepsy will be eligible for the NDIS, meaning that 80 per cent of clients currently accessing services through the Epilepsy Foundation will no longer be eligible for support. This is creating a massive services gap. Research compiled by the Epilepsy Foundation demonstrates that this will increase the burden on the health system and very sadly lead to an increase in avoidable deaths. My question for the minister is: are they considering recurrent funding, and what steps are being taken to avoid these tragic outcomes?
Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:12:44) — Thank you, Minister, for that response. As you would be aware, and as Minister Foley would be aware, time is really of the essence. In speaking to the CEO of the Epilepsy Foundation, they are starting the process of actually downsizing now and reducing services, because they do not have any funding commitments as we are entering into that caretaker mode. By way of supplementary, I ask: can the minister commit to a funding decision before the writs are issued so we can prevent this immediate loss of services for people living with epilepsy in Victoria?
